Section 7AA - What we do

Section 7AA is our practical commitment to the principles of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi:

• To ensure that policies and practices have the objective of reducing disparities by setting measurable outcomes
• Ensure that policies, practices and services have regard to mana tamaiti, whakapapa and whanaungatanga
• Seek to develop strategic partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations, including iwi authorities
• Report annually and publicly on what the Ministry has done, the impact of those actions and immediate next steps.

To achieve our end goal we have developed five Mana Tamaiti objectives, which embody the 33 whānau, hapū and iwi references in the Act. The approach to developing the objectives was co-designed with our independent advisory Māori Design Group and endorsed in February 2019 by key Māori strategic and community partners.

Tamariki Māori, rangatahi Māori, whānau, hapū and iwi are at the core of our Mana Tamaiti objectives, which set out our practical commitment to section 7AA. We are working to embed these objectives into policies, practices and services to ensure we meet our obligations to the legislation.

Our vision for tamariki Māori, supported by our partners, is that ‘no tamaiti Māori will need state care’. This aligns to the calls being made by iwi and Māori that tamariki Māori should remain in the care of their whānau, hapū and iwi. It is the focus of our efforts with Strategic Partners and Whānau Care Partners and will be realised through an increase in prevention and early and intensive intervention services to further reduce the entry of tamariki Māori into state care.

Our end goals framework depicts our end goal for Māori whereby: “Tamariki Māori are thriving under the protection of whānau, hapū and iwi”.